The present invention relates to a card edge connector.
FIGS. 47 and 48 of this specification show a card edge connector 100 which is described in JP 56-136480. An anterior face of the card edge connector 100 is provided with a base plate insertion hole 102 into which an end of a base plate 101 can be inserted. The interior of the card edge connector 100 has a pair of terminal fittings 104 which are provided with resilient contacts 103, and which are located symmetrically on either side of the base plate insertion hole 102. The distance L separating the two resilient contacts 103 is less than the thickness M of the base plate 101. When the base plate 101 has been attached to the card edge connector 100, the two resilient contacts 103 resiliently grip the base plate 101 while making contact with thin film-like terminals 105 provided on both faces of the base plate 101.
In this card edge connector 100, the contacting resistance between the terminal fittings 104 and the terminals 105 is stabilised by increasing the contacting force between the resilient contacts 103 and the terminals 105. If the resilient contacts 103 are caused to bend to a greater degree in order to achieve this aim, the distance L therebetween decreases. As a result, these upper and lower resilient contacts 103 may be more likely to make mutual contact before the base plate 101 is attached, thereby causing a circuit (not shown) of the card edge connector 100 to short circuit.
The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to present a card edge connector wherein terminal fittings are not short circuited.
According to the invention there is provided a card edge connector comprising a housing having a slot adapted to receive the edge of a card having surface contacts, and opposed resilient terminals within said slot for contact with said surface contacts, said connector further including short circuit preventing member of electrically insulating material, said preventing member being movable from an advanced position between said opposed terminals to a retreated position not between said opposite terminals.
Preferably the preventing member is movable by direct contact with a card edge connector inserted into said slot.
Such an arrangement reliably prevents short-circuiting of the opposed terminals, and accordingly these terminals can be given an increased contact force so that a reliable engagement of the card edge contacts is assured.
In a preferred embodiment the preventing member is latchable in the advanced and retreated positions, and may be entrained for movement with a card edge connector between predetermined limits. The latter feature ensures that the preventing member is returned to the advanced condition should the connector be separated from the contacts of a card edge.